The Sinnoh League: Not Just For Kids Any More!
by Iced Perfection
Summary: Why is it that TV makes the Pokemon League seem so easy? Adine is quick to accept the challenge of racing to the top, but will quickly find out that it's not all fun and battles. No...it's full of challenges she had no idea about before. Game-based. R&R?
1. C1, P1: noesis

First Pokemon fic in ages. :) I'm going to be leaving soon for vacation but am almost done with Chapter 2; if you guys want me to continue then I will; it'd be great if I could get feedback from people! I like to hear what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong.

I'm accepting characters for supporting roles - see note at bottom for details.

--

**Challenge One, Part One:**_ noesis_

--

_"There's... no going back"_

_You're searching for warmth that you have forgotten so long ago  
You only keep walking through the unending darkness_

_The dancing blue flame shudders and trembles  
"Who... can stop me?" you ask again and again  
_

--

"Hey, guys, what're you watching now?" As I entered inside the first building just inside Lavaridge's limits, I pulled off my goggles, resting them atop my head, where they normally sat. (I'd just moved here but already the dust and sand were irritating my eyes so much I had to invested in a rather nice pair of goggles.) "Is it that game show again, or are the contests on?" I looked at my watch. No, it couldn't be the contests. They didn't come on until seven, and it was only four twenty-five.

"No, it's the Pokemon League Challenge—you know, all those kids who compete for the title of Champion?" Yin turned around from where she was seated on the couch, twisting her torso and draping one arm across the back. "Wanna join us?" Her short, dark brown hair bounced slightly as she moved, her own goggles sliding down the back of her head, landing on the couch beside her, though she took no notice, continuing to stare up at me with her blue eyes.

I shook sand out of my hair, running my hand through the silvery-blue tresses to make sure there wasn't anything left; I didn't mind it all that much while I was in it but hated leaving it in. "Why not? I don't have anything better to do."

Slipping out of my shoes, I sat down on a rather plush armchair, folding my legs up under me so I was more comfortable. "What League and who's winning?" I asked, as I had come in on the middle of the action.

"I'm not really sure; this is only the second battle I've seen. I came in on the middle, too." She pointed to the boy on the right of the screen, and it soon switched to a close-up of his face to help us identify him. "I think that's Wocky, there, but I could be wrong."

"Maki, you mean?" Sterling gave Yin an amused look before turning back to the TV set. "It's Maki versus Saba. They're both newbies to this whole thing; if they don't knock each other out, I'll be surprised. And they'd be eliminated fairly soon, anyway."

I raised an eyebrow. "Newbies? That doesn't seem like a nice name to call someone," I said. Sterling wasn't always the most eloquent when it came to words…or to describing people, for that matter. He was blunt; almost too blunt, to a point…though the redhead never did fail to amuse us with his rather cynical outlook on life, which provided some humor once in a while for the rest of us.

"Well, it's actually a commonly-used term to describe people who are really new at this. Look—" he pointed to the TV "—Maki just used Water Gun against Saba's Charmeleon; Saba's other Pokemon, Finneon, is going to absorb it, though. Just watch." He was right—as usual—and Maki's Seadra's attack was redirected toward Finneon, who absorbed the attack without any effect.

"Wow, Sterling; why aren't _you_ on there?" I teased. He'd always been such a Pokemon geek—none of us knew whether it was interest, intuition, or some other form of knowledge that we were unable to figure out.

Sterling snorted. "As if. I wouldn't be caught dead on there."

I laughed. "You're right; only kids do that nowadays."

"Say that again."

I turned slightly, twisting in my seat to see who it was. I moaned silently inside my head when I saw who it was: Coral. Coral, and Sera.

"I said, 'you're right; only kids do that nowadays'," I said flatly, not really knowing where this was going.

"You'd be wrong about that, you know," Coral said, smirking. I never liked Coral—always thinking that she was better than us. She was, technically, but that's because she tried too hard and did things that we wouldn't have thought of doing. So, therefore, she was better at us in things we didn't even do, which was enough to grant her bragging rights, apparently. Her, and her trusty sidekick, Sera, who was never far from Coral's side. Sera—I always felt sorry for the boy, with a girl's name, though spelled differently—we never could figure out. He seemed to be loyal as anything to Coral, yet looked upon her actions with distain, and never said anything. I wasn't too sure what their relationship was, but I figured it wasn't my problem and never would be.

"What now, Coral?" Yin said without turning from the TV set. "Did you go and get a badge or something?"

"Yeah, and she's going to be challenging the Pokemon League soon so she can get on TV, I'll bet," Sterling said in a mocking voice, smirking. He and Yin really did make a perfect team.

"It's not like she'd be able to beat those ten-year-olds," I said in the most nonchalant voice I could, trying to control the laughter rising in my throat.

"It's not like you'd be able to do any better, _Ranger_," Coral said, turning slightly pink. Sera stayed silent—as usual—though nodding all the while as Coral spoke.

"Who says Rangers can't battle?" I said, looking up at her with a curious yet uncaring expression written in my eyes. (At least, I hoped I looked like that…)

"I do. You don't battle—you just capture them for use in the area and then release them. You aren't powerful enough to _actually_ battle."

"Would you like to make a bet on that?" I asked, my interest only slightly piqued. I kept my arms crossed across my chest and turned my attention back to the TV set, though I glanced at Yin and Sterling briefly before doing so. Both had annoyed looks on their faces, clearly wanting to leave, but I wasn't done yet.

"As a matter of fact, I would." Coral held up her new Pokenav—the one she had been showing off to everyone in town (and across the continent, I'll bet), one with GPS, maps, voice recognition; everything you could imaginable inside one little device. It was actually pretty nice, and I wouldn't have minded getting one myself, but they were pretty expensive…the ones that were dust-compatible, I remembered in my mind in annoyance. I _did_ need one…

"You're on," I said. "A race to the Pokemon League, is it?" I stood up to leave, but Coral held up a finger to stop me.

"You're getting ahead of yourself, Kita. You need to remember that a bet has two sides of it. When I win, I want…" she looked me over. "You almost have nothing that I want. I'll take your hair ornament…._thing_."

I immediately grabbed it, pulling it up to my chest, my hair following, trapped. I was fairly confident I could make it to the League, but didn't know if I was willing to risk my ornament to get _that _far. "Isn't there something else," I asked nervously. It was one-of-a-kind, passed down in my family; I couldn't lose that!

Coral smirked. "Looks like I hit a nerve, Kita. I'm taking it when I win. No questions asked."

"You mean, _if_ you win, Bori." Yin finally spoke again, siding with me, of course. "You're not guaranteed to win, you know."

"I know, but I've already got a head start, _Aji_," Coral shot back. Yin bit back her anger: I could see it in her eyes. She already had trouble controlling her anger; she didn't need Coral to make things worse.

"It doesn't matter; I'll win even with your head start," I said, surprised at the level of confidence in my voice. "I'll beat you in the League no matter what!"

I pulled my goggles back down over my eyes. "Who do you think I am? I'm not going to run from this fight!"

"…You've been watching too much TV again, haven't you, Adine?" Sterling said, amusement present in his voice. I turned slightly pink, found out by the one person I thought _wouldn't_ get it.

"Whatever," I said, waving his comment off. "I'm leaving in the morning, then, and taking you down, Bori!"

Coral smirked. "As if. You're never going to beat me." She turned to leave, Sera trailing behind her. "See you in the morning, Kita. We'll leave together." I watched her exit the building and allow a gust of sand to enter, scattering about the room.

Before she got out the door completely, though, she paused, allowing for more sand to enter. "Oh, and it's in Sinnoh. Just so you know."

"S-Sinnoh?!" I repeated, stammering slightly That was miles away from here!" I had to find out how to get there—fast! I clenched my fists and ran out after her, though in a different direction, toward home, ignoring the cries of my friends to wait for them. I needed to pack—now. I knew that I would have to leave pretty early in the morning to catch a train to the coast, where I would take a ferry to Sinnoh. It wasn't _that_ far away, but it was still farther than I wanted to go. Why couldn't we have stayed in Hoenn, where we _lived_? (Well, temporarily, at least, for me…)

--

Side note: If you want me to include your Pokemon trainer OC, then I will. I'm always looking for other characters I can use to broaden my story; it gives it more variety. I will prominently use characters submitted as trainers Adine fights along the way, unless you want me to work you in otherwise. 3 No requests for being gym leaders or champions or anything, please.

Format:

Name: Adine Kita

Gender: Female

Role: Protagonist (You'd put what kind of trainer/role you want here)

Age: 19

Hair color: Light blue, with a silvery sheen to it

Eyes: Crimson

Normal appearance: Likes to wear a purple leotard under light blue jeans; a belt around her waist has her Styler attached to it (in case of emergency, and it serves as her phone in most cases); shoes are typically absent since she grew up in Summer Town where she went barefoot; in Lavaridge town, however, she has to adjust and wear boots to keep out the dust; occasionally wears a black jacket/trenchcoat mix that goes over her outfit--used for cold weather, usually.

Personality: Carefree, usually, but rises to the challenge when presented with the opportunity. Somewhat unsure of her own strength, and not to confident in herself. Has a bit of a temper that can rise when her friends are in danger or she is insulted too much. Shy around people she doesn't know very well sometimes, though not always. It occurs only sometimes and she doesn't know why it does.

Talents: Thinking of ways to solve complex puzzles and getting out of things.

Hometown: Summer Town (Fiore Region), temporarily in Lavaridge for visiting reasons

Where you meet: (For you - where you want to meet Adine, if applicable)

Team: Six Pokemon, max. No exceptions, not even for ones traveling outside Pokeballs, but you don't need six; you can have three, five, or two. List them so I know how your battle style works. (Adine's is listed in the next chapter.)

Theme song: Anymotion by Lee Hyori (just for fun! You don't have to do this if you don't want to; I just think it helps get a little better grasp on the character sometimes.)


	2. C1, P2: U and K

I'll be leaving for vacation in a couple days; expect me to write more there. Remember that reviews are always appreciated and will make me write faster! OCs are still accepted; I'll take about ten before cutting it off. Remember, also, that they'll play smaller roles. See first chapter's note at the end for more details.

(And to "clinicly insane", anonymous reviewer - I need your team, too! I forgot about that; sorry!)

--

**Challenge One, Part Two:** _U+K_

--

You're just a little bit in grief so  
If just one more wish comes true  
I want to join hands with you and laugh  
Inside of the dream...  
Inside of the memory, we'll definitely meet again...  
If you can regain your smile  
If your laughing self returns  
Sadness will turn into kindness  
"As that far off memory was..." with all your desires

--

I ran inside my apartment building, climbing the steps as quickly as I could to reach my door, wrenching it open as soon as the key turned to enter my small but orderly apartment. "What to bring, what to bring…" I pulled out a messenger bag I'd gotten in Fall City before I left, one with a blue, water-like design on the tan material. I opened it up, thankful I had opted for the slightly more expensive one with more pockets and a simple design rather than a designer-labeled one with custom Pokemon designs and only one compartment. I riffled through my dresser, throwing clothes around (which I knew I'd have to pick up later in case the dust came in), trying to pick out comfortable outfits that could be easily washed and stored. "Shirts…pants…shorts…no skirts, they'd be hard to run in…" I murmured, holding things up together. I wanted comfort to be my first priority, but matching things had to come next.

"Adine?" A knock came from my open door.

"Door's open," I said, though thought it stupid after; I'd left it completely open. They had to know I was there. I assumed Sterling and Yin had caught up with me.

"Do you think that this purple matches this blue—" I started, looking up while holding a shirt and pants, but quickly realized that it was neither Sterling nor Yin who had entered.

"Shimon!" (1) I said, surprised. "What're you doing here?" I nervously looked around where I had scattered my clothing, hoping he wasn't looking there.

"I heard you made a bet with Coral. Something about the Pokemon League?" He gave a small smile, but it was hard for me to tell if it was good or not. I couldn't tell if he though I'd done something stupid or something cool. (I never could tell, not with him.)

"Y-yeah; she started it."

"In Sinnoh, right?"

I nodded.

"Leaving tomorrow?"

I nodded again.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"W-what?" I asked, stammering again. I tended to get that way when I was nervous or confused…or stressed. Like I was at that time. "Come with me?"

"Yeah. You've never been to Sinnoh, have you, except for a couple missions? I used to live there. Sunyshore City."

"Isn't that where the last gym is?" I asked, folding some clothes into my bag. If I was going to talk, I thought I'd get some things done while I did it.

Shimon nodded. "I traveled around there before coming to Fiore, though; I know my way around. You might need me, especially because you don't have a Pokenav." He smiled again. I blushed slightly—did everyone know I didn't have one?

"Well, if you really want to, you can come with me," I said, blurting it out before I thought it over any more. I put a hand over my mouth to stop myself from saying anything else.

"That's great," he said. Suddenly, he tapped chin, remembering something. "Oh, which Pokemon are you taking? If you need another couple to help build your team, my sister can help, if you want. She works at a lab where they have a bunch of extras."

"Er, well, I hadn't really thought about it…" I racked my mind, thinking of the ones I'd received as gifts since I couldn't really capture any as a Ranger. I listed the six I planned to take, ticking each off on a finger. "I guess I'd probably take Tropius, Seviper, Dodrio, Drifloon, Skarmory, and Gastrodon."

A tapping came at the window. I looked to see who—or what—it was, and smiled. "And Quincy, of course." I opened the sliding door that led to my small porch just enough to let the small bird-like Pokemon fly in, landing on his perch and preening himself immediately. "I can't leave Quincy behind." I smiled. (2)

"I don't think you'd go anywhere and leave him, Adine. You two make a great team, you know." I turned pink again with Shimon's compliment—at least, I think that's what he meant by it.

"Well, you and your Skitty make an awesome combination, too," I said back to him.

Actually, both of us knew that the two of us together with our Pokemon were even stronger, even though that had only happened a couple of times. Our intuitions seemed to be on the same level and we were able to connect our attacks and time them to lead us to victory easily. It wasn't planned or anything; we just happened to be chosen for the same team and won. I wasn't too sure about teaming up with Shimon at the time, but I warmed up to him…and…maybe a bit more than that…

"Hey, Adine—if you want, we can ride my Lapras to Sunyshore. I know a shortcut. We'd get there before Coral, probably; my Fearow can probably carry both of us." Shimon fidgeted with two pokeballs on his belt—the ones holding the Pokemon he had just mentioned.

"Are you sure?" I asked, straightening up. Not that he was selfish or anything, but it wasn't like Shimon to offer people rides around the world—me, especially. I never really talked to him, and when I did, I usually ended up running away, blushing. It was hard to talk around him. I froze when I realize it'd be even harder if I had to ride with him—like, right next to him! I turned pink just thinking about it…

"Yeah. It's no problem."

"Alright…so I'm guessing it'd be best to travel light, then?" If we were traveling by Pokemon, we didn't want to strain them with both heavy luggage and a long-distance trip.

"Nah; Piper's (3) trained to carry heavy loads. Remember, he used to be in the delivery service before I got him, and carried people _and _packages." He grinned, placing a hand on his Fearow's pokeball proudly, then covered his Lapras' as well. "Kalani (4) was a ferry—literally. They've both got enough training to carry us and whatever we need. I'd say you can take whatever you think you need."

"If you say so," I said, smiling.

"Alright. See you in the morning, then? Meet me outside the Pokemon Center and we'll head off to Mt. Chimney." He turned to leave.

"Mt. Chimney?" I asked, slightly confused. Why did we need to go there…?

"We can't take off with all this dust around; we just need to head to a higher elevation before I let Piper out, that's all. It'll take about an hour to hike up there, but once that's over, we can let her do all the work. Okay?"

"Ah!" I nodded sharply—a little too sharply? I felt something crack in my neck…"—I understand."

"Great. See you tomorrow." With one last smile over his shoulder, he was gone, closing my apartment door behind him.

Not five minutes later, Yin and Sterling burst into my apartment, dust flying everywhere.

"Would you care to tell us why we just ran into _Shimon_ walking down the steps as we were walking up?" Yin demanded, rushing over to where I stood, holding a black jacket.

"Er, well, you see—" I began, but Sterling cut me off…as usual.

"Let me guess: he finally asked you out but you had to turn him down since you're leaving. Am I right?" Sterling said, crossing his arms across his chest.

"…No, actually. That's completely wrong." I shot Sterling a look. "Why would you think that, anyway?"

"Oh, please. Don't think we don't notice." Yin rolled her eyes. "Half the town knows you're falling head-over-heels for that guy."

"I am not!" I squeaked, blushing. (_Oh, great; I probably just gave it away…)_

"Liar." Yin smiled, coming over to help me pack. "But really. What _was_ he doing here?"

"Well, he just offered to go with me."

"Just?!" Sterling exclaimed. _"Just?!"_

"You know, this probably means he likes you back," Yin said in a teasing voice, picking up a shirt and folding it neatly before placing it my bag.

"W-what? N-no, I—"

"Save it. We know when you stammer you're nervous, Adine." Yin smiled. "Hey, Sterling—if you're going to be here, why don't you help us?" she said suddenly; Sterling was standing against my glass sliding door, looking down on the streets.

"Hmm? Oh. Right." Instead of coming to help us, though, he exited the apartment. "I'll be right back."

Yin stared out the door in disbelief. "Men," she muttered. "I don't understand them one bit."

I shrugged. "We'll have an easier time this way." I glanced out the window, where Sterling had been looking before. My heart skipped a beat when I noticed Shimon standing in the street right across from my building—with Coral. "Coral!"

Yin raced over to my side. "That—aargh!" she cried, throwing her hands up in the air. "First, she challenges you to the stupidest thing I've ever heard of; then, she goes and tries to steal your guy!"

"He's not my guy," I said flatly. _(Technically, it's the truth…)_

"Not your guy?" Yin said, raising an eyebrow skeptically. "Then why are you traveling with him?"

"Because he offered."

"Mm-hmm. Sounds like _nothing's_ going on between you two."

I stopped listening to Yin and tried to make out what was going on below us; Sterling had arrived and was talking to the two. Coral was clinging to Shimon's arm _(Poor Shimon)_, but Sterling—whatever he was saying—quickly resolved whatever was happening, and Coral let go to take a rather poorly-aimed swing at Sterling before turning back to Shimon. Her body language, from where I was, told me that she wasn't too happy. I quietly opened the sliding door, careful not to let too much dust in, and slid it back; Yin was too busy muttering curses under her breath about Coral to notice.

I rested my elbows on the railing, hoping I could hear more outside. Shimon looked up to meet my gaze—had I not been quiet enough? I hesitated for a moment before waving a bit, hoping that it wouldn't make things worse. I could see him smile a bit, waving back. Coral noticed this and followed his gaze to where I stood.

Let's just say that Coral's reaction riled up so many Pokemon and so much dust in the area I had to retreat back inside—a shriek so loud it would leave my ears ringing through the whole night and cause me discomfort while I tried to sleep. _(Thanks, Coral…thanks for nothing.)_

…Though I _did_ have something to look forward to…something that I hoped wouldn't turn out badly. _(No…stay away from the "What if" scenarios of bad things…don't think of what could happen and things that could go wrong now; you're too far into this to back out!)_

I sighed, hoping I was right. After all, I'd be leaving in eight hours on…what? A journey to the Pokemon League, a journey that I…kinda didn't want to go on. Shimon's presence would make it bearable, at least, and Coral's jealousy _would_ make it better…

_(There, now; happy?)_

"Mm-hmm," I murmured to myself, slipping in between the sheets I had just dusted free of sand, hoping to fall asleep quickly. The quicker I fell asleep, the quicker day would come…

_(Day, and Shimon…_) I thought, smiling into my pillow. The darkness was quick to claim me, my mind thankful for the rest I was finally granted after a long, hard day.

--

Side Notes:

Firstly, anything in parenthesis ( ) and italics is in Adine's mind. Sometimes sentences will have a "What if I had..." kind of sentence where she's speaking as a narrator and whatnot, but anything in ( ) is pure thought.

1) Shimon is Shimon. It's like Simon, but I like it pronounced "Shimon" with the H sound in there better; it's easier to get this point across by typing it this way. It's a real name; trust me.

2) Quincy is the name of Adine's Pidgey, just so you know.

3) Piper is the name of Shimon's Fearow. Named after the friend he received it from when he left his hometown in Kanto.

4) Kalani is the name of Shimon's Lapras. Comes from the last Hawaiian queen's name, Liliuokalani.


	3. C2: Cyberbird

Okay, I lied. I wrote this to avoid summer reading assignments. Bleh. But yay for procrastination!

To my reviewers: I'll add your OCs in soon, don't worry! I have to set the groundwork for the whole story first, though. You understand, though, right? Still accepting OCs for those just coming in now!

clinicly insane: Thanks for giving me your team information, and I'll try as best I can to make her a recurring character. :)

--

**Challenge Two:** _Cyberbird_

--

_We exist far above the sky, and all material things  
A bird that flies to the borderline  
I look out over thousands of Earths  
Free from gravity, it's enticing me  
As I continue on to my destination  
Flying to the borderline between fact and fiction_

--

"Adine! WAKE UP!"

I groaned; waking up to the screaming voice of my best friend was _not_ how I had planned things. "Yinnn…" I said, groaning again, trying to pull the covers back over my head.

"No, Adine! You're going to be LATE!"

"Late?" I said, slurring the word slightly. I still wasn't sure what was going on…

"Late!" I exclaimed finally, bolting upright. "What time is it?!"

"Quarter till seven! You've got fifteen minutes to get up before Shimon leaves you! You have to beat Coral, you know! A lazy girl like you can't _possibly_ do that!"

"I'm up! I'm up!" I cried, jumping out of bed and running to my closet, where I'd hung my outfit for traveling. "Stop hitting me, will you?!" I'd pretty much only just noticed Yin hitting me on the back of the head with a pillow from my couch; it didn't hurt much, but it was noticeable enough to be annoying.

"I will once you _get out the door!"_ Yin said irritably. "I got up _extra early_ to make sure _you_ were up and ready to go in time!"

"And we come in to a sleeping girl, totally unaware of what time it is." I suddenly realized that Sterling was there, too, the smell of bacon and eggs wafting over the divider between the kitchen and the living room and into my bedroom. "Breakfast is ready."

"You didn't have to—" I began to object, though was cut off by Yin pushing me into the bathroom to change. "Yin!"

"Like I said; you don't have a moment to lose. You took a shower last night, right?"

"Yeah," I called through the door. I'd planned ahead for that, at least. I looked in the mirror to see my own reflection staring back at me—was I really ready—willing?—to take on this challenge?

I sighed. _(Too late now…)_

Slipping out of my pajamas, I pulled on my purple leotard, making sure it fit snugly where it was supposed to and didn't bunch; the jeans I chose matched, as far as I could tell, light purple with light blue…it was okay, right? My hair was, as usual, only tied toward the ends of my hair, held in place by the one thing I didn't want to lose, the thing that had really started this whole ordeal I was about to go through. The last thing I put on was my gloves, the fingerless ones I'd had for ages, worn so much they almost had holes in them, but they were special, and I wasn't about to leave them behind on this trip, not this time.

"Hey, how'd you guys get in here, anyway?"

"You left your door open again. Lock it more often, Kita!"

I rolled my eyes—sometimes it was hard to tell if Sterling was telling the truth or if he'd opened it using his credit card again; he'd been known to do that on occasions…

"Seven minutes left!" Yin cried impatiently to me. "Seven! As in, two and five!"

"I get it, I get it…" I muttered, stumbling out the other door into kitchen. I wasn't quite awake at the time, only half-functioning.

"Coffee?" Sterling asked, holding out a cup.

"Thanks," I said quietly in reply, taking the mug and taking a big gulp. "I'll need this."

I ate my breakfast almost wordlessly, listening to Yin's constant crowing and countdown, Sterling choosing to continue cooking for the two of them (since I'd be gone and they had come over so early; they pretty much took whatever food they wanted, anyway).

"I'm done." Standing up, my gaze fell to the window, noticing that the sun hadn't quite risen yet. Maybe by the time I got to the mountain it'd be up. "I'm leaving now; thanks for all your help, guys."

"No problem," Yin said, smiling. It soon vanished, however, and she reached out to hug me. "Good luck, Adine. I'll miss you."

I was slightly taken aback by her farewell; it seemed so solemn and unusual for just…a simple journey. _(Or so I thought.)_

"What's the matter? It's just a few battles, right?"

"Are you crazy?!" Yin said suddenly, shaking me. "You don't know about the _other_ things, do you?"

"Other…things?"

"She doesn't know!" she exclaimed, whipping her head around to face Sterling. "Why doesn't she know?!

Sterling merely shrugged. "I don't know."

"Why does no one know?!" Yin cried, throwing her head back in frustration, though still clinging to my arms.

"Uh, well, if you're done, can I go?"

"Listen! Adine! Know that you'll have to do more than battle! There are…_things_ out there that you'll have to face alone, and you need to be prepared when the time comes!"

I looked at her wordlessly, not quite understanding what she meant. _(Has she finally cracked?)_

Yin sighed as if defeated. "Fine. Go. Oh, wait; take this—" she held out a device that looked to be reminiscent of a Poketech, though a slightly different shape. "It's old, but it'll allow you to contact us if you need to. It's called PokeGear; I got it on sale in Johto when I was visiting my sister."

Though I still had no idea what Yin was going on about, her words still made me worry a bit: I suddenly realized I had no idea what I was getting into.

"Yin!" I cried, clinging to her. "I don't want to go!"

"Oh, shut up!" she replied, hitting me on the head to let go, though not hard enough to hurt me. "Just go! Shimon's waiting for you!"

_(Shimon…)_

"I'm going!" I said finally, running out the door to go meet Shimon.

A few seconds later, I was back in my apartment. "I left my bag," I said, trying not to look like I was totally hopeless, though Yin's expression made me think otherwise. She shook her head, sighing, one arm on her forehead, the other crossed against her chest. I threw my bag's single strap over my right shoulder and dashed out the door and down the stairs—again.

"Good luck," I heard Yin whisper as I finally left, hoping I'd gotten everything.

It took two and a half minutes to get to the edge of town (the PokeGear Yin had given me had a built-in timer!), where I saw Shimon waiting patiently at the base of the mountain.

"Hey, Adine," he said as I jogged up, panting to catch my breath.

"Have you—_haah_—been waiting here—_haah_—long?" I asked through pants.

Shimon shook his head, something I was glad for. "No; I actually just got here, too." He suddenly started walking toward the mountain. "C'mon; we need to go. Can't let Coral get a head start, can we?" he said, jarring me back awake. He grabbed my hand, causing a slight blush to creep up my neck, pulling me toward the trail that led up the mountain. "We have to go up to the fourth station to take off," he said, pointing to the one hut-like station that stuck out of the side of the mountain, with what looked like a landing pad of sorts attached to the side of it.

"Ah, okay," I said, loosening my grip, hoping that he'd let go as well, but he kept my hand in his, holding on until long after we'd passed the third station.

"It's not too much further now," Shimon said as we climbed closer to the top. By that time, I was breathing heavily; the thin air combined with the fact I had sprinted to meet him _and_ we were climbing a mountain with a back-and-forth trail (1) that almost made me dizzy weren't easy on my body, even though I had done some soccer back in my freshman year. "You okay?" he asked.

I nodded weakly. "I'm…fine," I managed, hoping I didn't look so weak at the start of the journey—we hadn't even arrived in Sinnoh and I was already tired!

"We can rest once we get to the coast; we have to fly to Rustboro, first, though." He smiled at me, almost apologetically. "It won't take long, I promise."

_(And…how am I supposed to travel with him this whole time, again, exactly?)_

Once we reached the station, we were both pretty tired, so we decided to rest for a minute before taking off; a couple others were ahead of us, anyway. Apparently, Station Four was a popular place for taking off, though there were higher stations where people could take off, too; this one just happened to be the first one, the most accessible. I wasn't about to go climbing up the mountain again just to avoid waiting in line, though. We leaned against the railing that was on the edge of the plateau where the station was, waiting our turn.

"Where're you kids off too today?" the man seated at the entrance of the hut asked, obviously the one who stayed there and ran the place from the badge on his arm that read, "Fourth Station". "It might be rough if the wind picks up like it's been doing lately."

"Rustboro. We're going to Sinnoh, but we're just heading to the coast so we can launch from the ocean."

"Rustboro? To Sinnoh?" The man turned fully toward us. "Are you sure that's a good idea? You have to pass a whole Route to get to the ocean; wouldn't it just be easier to fly to Petalburg City and go a bit west to the beach?"

"Petalburg?" Shimon pulled out his PokeNav—only reminding me of my predicament even more, making me shiver slightly—and frowned slightly. "I guess that _would_ make more sense." He looked up at the man. "Thanks."

He shook his head. "It's the least I can do for you two; you don't look like you know the area very well, do you?"

"Not really; I'm just here for a visit from Verdanturf, though I'm from Sunyshore originally. Adine here's from Fiore, though."

"Oh, one of those Rangers, then, eh?" he said, eyeing the styler I had clipped to my belt. Though I didn't think I'd be using it, it never hurt to have it close by. It gave me some sort of comfort knowing it was there.

I nodded in response to his question. "From Summer Town, sir."

He laughed. "You don't need to call me anything like that. Just call me Ken. Ken Bori."

"Bori?" asked Shimon suddenly. "You related to Coral, by any chance?" He straightened up.

"Coral? She's my granddaughter on my second son's side. You friends of hers?" He smiled.

I started to speak, but Shimon held out his hand to stop me. "You might say that. Has she left yet?"

"Left? Is she going somewhere?"

"You could say we're headed in the same direction," Shimon said, choosing his words carefully as not to alert him to whatever he didn't already know so we wouldn't spend any more time there than we needed.

"I'll tell her you stopped by, then?" Ken said as we started toward the pad, our number popping up on the analog screen facing us.

"Don't mention it; I'd like it to be a surprise," I said, smiling slightly—kindly, it seemed, but hidden was my true intention—before Shimon could stop me again. "Okay?"

"Er, sure," he said, waving slightly as we stepped onto the round, target-like launch pad.

Shimon pulled a pokeball off his belt, throwing it up into the air. "Piper!" he called, a white blast of light morphing into the Fearow's massive shape. "Time to go!"

"Fear!" it cried, flapping its wings once before landing.

"How are we going to both ride it?" I asked, suddenly realizing that it wasn't as big as I'd thought initially.

"We aren't going to ride it," Shimon said, going over and placing what looked like a long, simple rope with loops on either end—two and one—on the ground in front of Fearow, though held on to one in his hands still. "Ready?"

I barely had time to answer before his Fearow began to pump the air with its powerful wings, lifting up slightly from the ground. In its claws I saw it gripping the rope, the side with the single loop; when Shimon hooked his foot into one of the other, smaller loops, I suddenly realized how we were going to be flying.

"Hold on!" he said, grinning as he suddenly grabbed both me and the rope with opposite hands, Fearow taking off completely and leaving nothing between me and the ground but air. I scrambled to find a grip on the rope, finding the other loop with my foot and clutching Shimon for dear life as we climbed higher and higher in the sky. I resisted the urge to scream, as I'd never flown like this before.

"Can you put on your goggles?" Shimon said, yelling to be heard above the noise of the air that was swirling around us. "I should've told you sooner; it gets really dry up here! Dryer than Lavaridge!" I gulped; that wasn't really something I wanted to think about at the time. I nervously loosened my grip on the rope for a moment, but a jarring wake of wind had me clutching back to it, afraid to even move.

"I'll help you." I looked up to see Shimon already with his goggles on, helping me slide them down from their resting position to comfortably on my face where I suddenly found they made things a lot more bearable. "Having fun?" he added, looking out over the clouds.

I could only nod slightly, making a small sound in my throat I hoped Shimon didn't hear; I was still breathless from the takeoff.

"Look; the sun's rising." I looked to where he was pointing, to the horizon. The sun was just peaking over the cloud cover, shining just as brightly as it would during the day.

As Shimon's hand went back to the rope for support, I suddenly realized that he had his arms completely wrapped around me, and that I was pressed almost right up against him. I began to blush again, thankful that my goggles covered at least _part_ of my cheeks…though I could easily attribute the redness to the cold…

"Are you cold?"

_(Is he reading my mind now?!)_

"Er, well, it's…a little bit chilly," I started, my body suddenly shivering as if to answer for me and to say, "Yes!"

Shimon gave a laugh that I could barely hear over the wind, but pulled me a little closer. "Is this better?"

If it wasn't his warmth that suddenly made me warmer, it was from my blushing head to toe in embarrassment…or…enjoyment?

_(You're enjoying this, aren't you?)_

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Notes:

(1) If you've ever been to Mt. Fuji and know that its trails go on the side of the mountain like…stairs, almost, instead of just straight up, then you know what I mean here.

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Like these, but more…flatish. They have very little slope at all, and it takes _forever_ to climb them.

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That's all for now; until next time, guys—you know what to do: push the little purple button down there; it's your friend!


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